Hicks: Nick Lachey accused of choking man

Nick Lachey is being accused of choking a San Diego Chargers fan and calling his wife names Sunday, right before he and friends were ejected from Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego for unruly behavior.

Smell that? It's the sweet aroma of opportunity arising from a lawsuit about to be filed.

TMZ obtained video the website said shows the singer, a Cincinnati Bengals fan, getting aggressive with a Chargers fan wearing an Igor Olshansky jersey (Olshansky played for the Chargers from 2004 to 2008). The fan, who was not identified, told the site that Lachey and his die-hard Bengals fan buddies heckled him and his Chargers jersey for much of the second half. Lachey made one comment about Olshansky that crossed the line.

That's right. Nobody talks about Igor Olshansky that way in San Diego.

So the fan's wife turned to Lachey and said, "Well, he lasted longer than your boy band."

Ouch.

Lachey allegedly flipped out (Nobody talks about 98 Degrees like that in this town) and called the woman a term that starts with an expletive and ends with a reference to a female dog. Things escalated, and the Chargers fan says Lachey grabbed him by the throat and shoved him to the ground, which is supposedly captured on video.

There's that smell again ...

Security officers -- obviously big fans of the Backstreet Boys -- responded and ejected Lachey and his pals, but not the Chargers fans.

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Afterward, Lachey got on Twitter and, in a move that no doubt thrilled his attorney, wrote "Just got kicked out of the chargers stadium and couldn't be prouder! Go Cincy Bengals." He later acknowledged the altercation, writing, "i simply don't appreciate someone turning around and putting their finger in my face. call me crazy, but that deserved a reaction."

Right. It's almost as if he said Lachey's teeth were not as pure white as freshly fallen snow.

TMZ reported the Chargers fan plans to file a police report against Lachey. Lachey's rep said "This is a gross misrepresentation of what happened. It was nothing but a spirited debate between fans of opposing teams. At no point did Nick say anything derogatory to the man's wife and anything to suggest the contrary is simply untrue."